


Careful

by sapphicmedusa



Category: La casa de papel | Money Heist (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/F, Friends to Lovers, this is how it happened and you cannot convince me otherwise
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2020-05-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:47:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24293077
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sapphicmedusa/pseuds/sapphicmedusa
Summary: Alicia gets tired of trying to make her friend see how awful her boyfriend is. Post-academy AU, my guess at what Alicia was referring to when she told Raquel she had warned her about Alberto.
Relationships: Raquel Murillo/Alicia Sierra
Comments: 4
Kudos: 54





	Careful

**Author's Note:**

> This is my desperate attempt to fill in the gaps in their relationship since part 4 didn't give us much to work with. Hope you enjoy!

ALICIA

Alicia ran her hand through her hair in frustration. She had sympathy for Raquel’s situation, she really did, but seeing that she was the only one who was angry when Raquel should’ve been raging drove her crazy.

“You always do this Raquel. You always let him do this.”

“Alicia, I’m sorry, I really am but you know how he is, we’ll just do this another night.”

These fights had become frequent between the two recently. Alicia was running out of patience, but she would be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to make her friend see that there was nothing normal of acceptable about the situation she was in.

“Can’t you see that he’s manipulating you? It always starts like this, with small things, like not letting you spend a night with your best friend, making you feel guilty about everything, and before you know it your sweet, passive boyfriend has turned into the biggest motherfucker in all of Spain.”

“He just said he wanted to see me tonight because I’m always busy and rarely see him anymore! I would’ve asked him to do the same, I don’t understand why you’re so angry.” Raquel questioned, truly dumbfounded as to why Alicia was reacting this way.

“No you wouldn’t have, because you’re not the manipulative psychopath that he is!” Alicia spat out, in utter disbelief that her friend was really not seeing what was wrong with all of this.

“Yes he’s sweet to you, but he’s an entirely different person around you, Raquel. Have you seen the way he talks to anyone who isn’t you? How long before he starts treating you with that condescending attitude? How long before he starts calling you names when he’s angry like he does with all the other girls?”

“Alicia you’re making a big deal out of nothing. Unless you’re upset about having to postpone our plans, I don’t see what the problem is.”

“Clearly you don’t.” Alicia scoffed, putting her index finger and thumb on her temples to calm herself down. 

As frustrated and angry as she was, she didn’t want to hurt Raquel anymore, so she took a deep breath to calm down before saying something she’d regret.

“Raquel I get it, believe me I do. You’re in denial. You cannot have any real perspective in this situation. But you’re gonna have to see him for the asshole that he is eventually, and I’d rather that happened sooner than later.”

She took a deep breath and held Raquel’s hand in hers.

“Look, I’m telling you this because if I were in your place I would have wanted somebody to tell me to wake up. Yes he loves you, but is that enough? You might like that he’s different around you, but what happens when he doesn’t have to fight all the time to keep you around anymore?”

Raquel winced at her words, clearly offended, and pulled her hand away.

“I don’t care if you hate me for this, Raquel. I’d rather have you hate me than keep doing this to yourself.”

\--

RAQUEL 

Raquel stayed silent. She wasn’t expecting Alicia to lash out like that, and if she was, then she certainly was not expecting it to be this way. She had suspected that she’d be angry, but she thought she would be angry because she was bailing on her. She didn’t expect her to behave this selflessly.

Alicia’s words hurt because deep down she knew they were true. Had she really become one of those girls? The girls who never saw their boyfriends’ flaws, the girls who spent all of their time with them, the girls who always made up excuses for them, the girls who always blamed themselves, the girls who didn’t realize they were being mistreated until it was too late? The girls she had despised all her life?

She hastily wiped away a tear, angry at herself for showing emotion, for being weak, for always doing what Alberto asked her to do and for not being able to stand up to Alicia.

She wanted to defend herself, she wanted to defend Alberto but she decided that she didn’t want to deceive herself anymore.

There was so much that she wanted to say, but she didn’t have the strength to say any of it.

“I’m leaving.” was all that came out of her mouth. She started going around the apartment, picking up her stuff, avoiding eye contact with Alicia.

“Raquel…” Alicia called after her, visibly exhausted by fighting. 

When Raquel reached the door handle to leave, Alicia stopped her.

“At least let me drive you. It’s almost midnight and it’s a Tuesday, nobody’s going to be out on the streets. You shouldn’t walk alone.”

Raquel nodded, defeated. She hadn’t even thought of that. Suddenly, she felt embarrassed that Alberto hadn’t offered to pick her up. She knew she shouldn’t feel embarrassed but she did, because she knew Alicia probably realized it too, and that was just another argument in her favor. Alberto was overprotective, except when he actually needed to be.

She waited for Alicia to get her keys, not looking at her for even a second. The walk to Alicia’s car was silent.

When they got in the car, Alicia couldn’t stand the silence anymore. She turned the radio on as soon as she started the car.

When she heard Total Eclipse of the Heart on the radio, Raquel almost laughed at the absurdity of the situation. Somehow the music only added to the tension in the air.

Looking out the window, she realized she dreaded every second of the drive. Not because she wanted it to be over, the opposite. She would rather sit in this car with Alicia until the end of time, although they had just had a fight, than be with Alberto tonight.

She didn’t know what made her feelings change so suddenly, but it was like something clicked inside her head after Alicia’s little speech.

_It always starts like this, with small things…_

Come to think of it, some things that happened _were not small at all_.

Something in her gut had always told her that something was wrong, but she had done such a good job at silencing it that she never heard it anymore. 

She felt suffocated. 

She wished Alberto lived farther away so that the ride would have been longer and she would have had more time to think. She was scared to bail on him, but she knew she couldn’t be with him right now. Even thinking about him nauseated her. She thought she would always be disgusted with herself if she actually went up to his apartment tonight. 

So when Alicia pulled the car in front of Alberto’s apartment building, Raquel found herself unable to move.

She sunk deeper in her seat, didn’t reach for the handle, didn’t even undo her seatbelt. She had no intention of leaving. She heard Alicia exhale loudly.

“You’re not gonna go up are you?”

Raquel shook her head “no” as tears filled up her eyes once again. She turned her head to look at Alicia.

The streetlight hitting her skin made it look like a movie. Raquel was suddenly hyper-aware of Alicia’s presence next to her. The warmth of her body, the sound of her breath, the cigarette smell that filled her nose every time she flipped her hair, the sound of her nails against the steering wheel, all of it. As Alicia’s presence filled her senses, Raquel was brought back from her thoughts. She found herself being drawn to her, like she had no control over the way her body moved, and leaned towards her like sunflowers lean towards the sun.

She was tired of trying to restrain herself, tired of pretending there was nothing there, tired of pretending Alicia was just another worried friend when she was so clearly not. So for once, she stopped thinking. Stopped thinking about Alberto, stopped thinking about their friendship, stopped thinking about what this would mean… and when she finally undid her seatbelt, it wasn’t to get out of the car.

—

Normally, Alicia wouldn’t have done this.

Truth be told, she was a bitch, but to get between a couple, a couple who had been together for years — it was out of character. Not because she had strict a strict moral code when it came to relationships or anything like that, but she wasn’t the type to get involved in these things.

But then again, Alberto did not deserve an ounce of the respect she might have had for anyone else in this kind of situation. So when she felt Raquel’s warm breath against her face, saw her slightly parted lips, and noticed her eyes radiating lust, she simply couldn’t resist. 

Slowly, she brought her face closer to Raquel’s, leaning towards the passenger seat with her whole body.

Raquel leaned in, tilting her head slightly, and Alicia mirrored her movements. Raquel brought her face closer to hers but didn’t dare to actually touch their lips.

Alicia slightly chuckled at her hesitation, never lifting her eyes from hers, and the over-confidence radiating off of her was the push Raquel needed to finally press her lips against hers.

It didn’t take long for the kiss to get heated. Raquel pulled Alicia’s bottom lip with her teeth, which Alicia responded to by placing a hand on her neck and pulling her closer. Feeling Alicia’s tongue on her lips, Raquel parted them and tasted her tongue. The sound of their mouths clashing could be heard in the silence of the night. They kissed slowly, without urgency, and delicately, both afraid that doing too much would push the other away. 

Finally, Raquel couldn’t take it anymore and placed her hand on Alicia’s waist, pulling her closer. Alicia responded by placing one arm around her waist and along with the hand she had on the back of her neck, pulled her even closer. When Raquel felt Alicia’s feather-light touches underneath her top, she suddenly realized where they were — in front of Alberto’s apartment building. She pulled away and in between her heavy breaths, managed to spit out the words “not here”.

Surprisingly, Raquel was not at all put off by the dawning reality that she was cheating on Alberto — it was where she was doing it. In front of his building, in Alicia’s car. Alicia nodded slowly in understanding. Raquel quietly settled back in her seat and put her seat belt back on. She turned to Alicia with a question in her eyes:

“Take me back?” she asked, doing her best to sound confident, but her eyes gave away her worry that the answer would be ‘no’.

Alicia smiled internally at how Raquel was unsure whether she’d want to take her back to her place. That’s what she had been trying to do all night. 

Alicia lifted one hand off the steering wheel and lightly ran it through Raquel’s hair. She kissed her slowly and started the car.

The walk from the car to the front of Alicia’s building was the biggest test Raquel’s patience had been put through. She was aching to get inside her apartment, aching to forget she ever tried to leave in the first place. She felt as if she was being chased and every second wasted was increasing her chances of being caught.

Once Alicia entered the password, they practically sprinted to the elevator with Alicia’s hand on the small of Raquel’s back. The chilly October night had suddenly become too hot for Raquel. She pressed the button of the fifth floor and Alicia pushed her back to the wall, linking their lips and pressing their bodies together. Raquel parted her legs to bring Alicia closer. This time the kiss was sloppy, urgent, like they were both drunk. They both laughed, realizing their absurdity. When they arrived at Alicia’s floor Raquel impatiently pushed her outside and pressed her body against Alicia’s back as Alicia tried to get her keys in the lock. Once they got inside they threw everything on the floor and Raquel rushed to take Alicia’s jacket off. Alicia, lacking the patience to even get Raquel properly undressed, slipped her hands beneath her top, her hands making their way to Raquel’s breasts. Raquel’s hands tangled in Alicia’s hair, trying to pull her even closer, which was impossible at this point. They clumsily made their way to Alicia’s bedroom and almost fell down on the bed. Alicia climbed on top of Raquel, aggressively kissing her neck while lifting her top. Raquel started letting out loud moans. Her hands found the hem of Alicia’s top and she helped her out of it. Unable to stand the loss of contact, Alicia’s lips found Raquel’s neck again as soon as she got rid of the garment and she held Raquel’s wrists on top of her head, leaving her unable to touch her. Raquel arched her back to touch their bodies, trying to make up for the loss of contact on her part. After a few moments Alicia let her wrists go, but before Raquel could touch Alicia she was making her way down her torso, leaving kisses on her stomach. Raquel placed a hand in her hair and her other hand found Alicia’s to intertwine their fingers, making her forget about her worries for a minute.

—

It was still dark when Raquel woke up to the sound of ambulance sirens coming in from the window. She instantly felt Alicia’s arm lazily drooped over her naked body and turned around to look at her. She looked so beautiful that Raquel had the urge to wake her up just to kiss her but decided to let her sleep instead. She slowly lifted Alicia’s arm off her torso and placed it on the pillow as she got out of the bed. Her eyes searched for her underwear in the dark. After finding it somewhere on the floor, she opened one of Alicia’s drawers as quietly as possible, the one she knew she kept her t-shirts in. Barefoot, she made her way to the entrance of the apartment to find her purse and get her cigarettes and lighter. She needed to process what had just happened. As she was searching for her lighter, her hands landed on her phone. 6 missed calls, 5 text messages, all from Alberto. Fuck.

She felt her lightness disappear into thin air. After taking a few deep breaths, she decided to deal with it in the morning. It wouldn’t have felt right to talk to him when she had just woken up naked next to Alicia. She felt a sense of dirtiness wash over her. She shook herself internally. No. He doesn’t get to make you feel like this. He would probably be asleep anyways, she thought, there was no point in trying to reach out to him. She didn’t read the messages and made her way to Alicia’s kitchen to sit by the window.

She opened a window and lit a cigarette.

She forced her thoughts back from Alberto to where she was now. She had just slept with Alicia. She realized, in that moment, that she didn’t regret any of it. After all it was an entirely conscious decision. Not that there had been a very active decision-making process on her part, but still. She had no reason to regret any of it. She was just worried about where they stood now. Had it been meaningless? Would Alicia do that? Fuck her friend like it didn’t mean anything? _Of course she would, Raquel. Don’t be stupid_. Would she let her cheat on Alberto knowing it didn’t mean anything to her? _Maybe that’s precisely why she let it happen_ , said another voice in her head. _Because she knew it wouldn’t mean anything._ No. _It didn’t make any sense._ They had just had a huge fight, if she wanted to fuck someone just for the hell of it, it certainly would not have been Raquel. The feelings could not have been one sided. Certainly not after that kiss in the car. _And certainly not when she knew how fragile you were last night._ As she tried to reason with herself and let the smoke fill her lungs, she wanted to block it all out. _No. You don't want to block it out._ She wanted to return to bed and fuck Alicia again, and again, and again. 

She felt footsteps approaching and turned her head to see Alicia approaching in a flow white tank top and her underwear.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Alicia asked, chuckling. 

Raquel gave her a small smile and put out her cigarette. 

“I was just about to sneak out.” Raquel answered, trying to make her tone as serious as possible.

“I can see that much,” Alicia said, her sarcastic grin never leaving her face. The raspiness of her voice was stirring something inside Raquel again. 

Alicia settled on the chair next to Raquel and placed a strand of hair behind Raquel’s ear. 

She leaned in and whispered slowly, “I didn’t take you for the type to smoke after sex.”

Though very turned on, Raquel bursted out in laughter at that, realizing that everything she had done that night was truly out of character. _Maybe I should behave out of character more often,_ she thought.


End file.
